Vought Aircraft Inc

As striking Boeing commercial aircraft workers walked picket lines Friday, workers at subcontractor Vought Aircraft Industries' plants in Hawthorne, Torrance and Brea were told to think business as usual. In an e-mail read to the three plants' nearly 700 employees, Dallas-based Vought said the company expected to continue a full schedule of work on its Boeing commercial contracts through at least Sept. 16. "After that, it depends on what Boeing tells us," spokeswoman Lynne Warne said.

As striking Boeing commercial aircraft workers walked picket lines Friday, workers at subcontractor Vought Aircraft Industries' plants in Hawthorne, Torrance and Brea were told to think business as usual. In an e-mail read to the three plants' nearly 700 employees, Dallas-based Vought said the company expected to continue a full schedule of work on its Boeing commercial contracts through at least Sept. 16. "After that, it depends on what Boeing tells us," spokeswoman Lynne Warne said.

Northrop Grumman Corp. completed the $843-million sale of its commercial aircraft structures business to Carlyle Group. The unit, with about 6,000 employees, builds fuselages for the Boeing 747 and other Boeing passenger jets at plants in California, Texas, Georgia and Florida, Century City-based Northrop said in a news release. In addition to the cash payment, Carlyle Group will assume about $400 million in unfunded retirement benefits.

Boeing Co. will pay $580 million for a plant that makes large sections of its 787 jetliner, an apparent effort to rein in supplier problems that have led to costly delays of the next-generation aircraft and hurt the company's credibility. The plant, in North Charleston, S.C., and owned by Vought Aircraft Industries Inc., makes barrel-like sections of the 787's fuselage that fit between the wings and tail and consist mostly of lightweight materials. Deliveries of the 787 have been postponed by nearly two years partly because of problems with components made by suppliers.

European plane maker Airbus' parent company EADS will make a key piece of U.S. archrival Boeing Co.'s latest passenger jet, in a sign of how outsourcing can overcome national pride. Boeing supplier Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.'s announcement this week that EADS would be a subcontractor on its work on the 787 Dreamliner was at first glance a surprise considering that Boeing and Airbus are facing off in a trade battle.

Boeing Co., the world's largest airplane maker, said 35% of the structure of its proposed 7E7 Dreamliner would be made by Japanese companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Fuji will make most of the wing components for the 7E7, while Kawasaki and others will produce the midsection, Boeing said. Alenia Aeronautica, a unit of Italy's Finmeccanica, and closely held Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.

Lockheed Martin Corp. beat out Boeing Co. to win a $766.2-million Pentagon contract to design and build a radio system connecting aircraft, ships and ground stations military-wide. The deal, announced Friday, could lead to the installation of tens of thousands of radios and ultimately be worth billions to the company.

The former North American headquarters of Nissan Motor Co. in the South Bay is being acquired by a Los Angeles real estate developer for more than $75 million. Kearny Real Estate Co., which specializes in improving and repositioning large Southern California real estate assets, will spend as much as $10 million to "freshen up" the 1970s-vintage, 42-acre office and industrial campus before putting the buildings on the market for lease or sale, Kearny Managing Partner Jeff Dritley said Wednesday.

Boeing Co. announced Monday that it would propose a redesigned version of the 767 jetliner as its entry in the bidding for a $40-billion contract to supply the Air Force with new aerial refueling tankers. The aerospace giant said it had tweaked the design of its 767 long-range freighter to improve fuel-efficiency and allow it to take off and land on shorter runways. Chicago-based Boeing is competing against Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp.

Boeing Co. on Wednesday reported a 17% rise in second-quarter profit to beat Wall Street expectations, but the airplane maker said it was still assessing the financial effects of the latest delay of its new 787 jetliner. The Chicago-based aerospace company expects to reevaluate its earnings forecast and announce a revised schedule for the eagerly anticipated 787, which is nearly two years behind schedule, in the current quarter.